


The Gallant Knight

by timahina



Series: Predator Week 2019 [3]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/M, Predatorshipping Week 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 01:16:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18906553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timahina/pseuds/timahina
Summary: Victory was only satisfying against a worthy opponent, the same could be said with defeat.





	The Gallant Knight

“And match!”

Yuri removed his blade from his opponent’s throat, backing away and laughing as he picked up a towel and wiped the sweat off his brow. Another day, another disappointing and predictable end to a match. The knight on the ground pulled himself up, bowing and picking up his weapon – immediately going to the compliments. “Wow, Your Highness! No one is as skillful with a sword as you! Why, your mastery puts the entire squadron of knights to shame!”

The useless flattery that did little to hide the contempt in his voice. Yuri merely nodded, waving his hand in disinterest as the knight continued in the same drivel he had always heard. Every week, Yuri had participated in some sort of sparring match with the knights to keep up his stamina as well as train himself in combat. When he was younger, they were more useful in teaching him the fundamentals; the basic steps needed, and he found it easy.

Fun, even.

But the older he got and the more his talent grew, the less of a challenge the knights gave him. He was fooled at first that he was simply better than them. But now, now the wool had been pulled away long ago and Yuri could see plain as day that they were going easy on him on purpose. And so, each time he was put up in a sparring match, he’d do his best to take them down quickly, to hurt their pride in his wake. But even that had gotten boring now.

There was no sense in drudging out a senseless match when only half of the party was trying. No, if they wanted to make themselves look like fools to him, they were more than welcomed to. He sighed. “If a Prince can defeat his whole slew of knights, then what’s the point of having any of you here to protect me? Surely, I can fire you all and do this on my own.”

The knight tensed up; their rhythm thrown off as the compliments were reigned in. Yuri felt a smug satisfaction watching the desperation settle in – at least it was different. “Then uh… allow me a rematch, surely I can give Your Highness a more invigorating challenge if I-”

“I know all your moves. I know the moves of your whole squadron. At this point, I feel I can fight you all blindfolded while instructing the court jester to fight in my stead. Should I call him in and demonstrate?” The knight stayed silent, merely bowing his head and sheathing his sword, his head down as he left the arena and the training room. Yuri sighed, stabbing the sword into the ground and watched as it stood up on its own.

Maybe next time, he should try a different weapon.

Or give the court jester idea a try. That sounded promising. An entertaining evening for certain. Or perhaps, he should just dismiss them all and train with a tree – he could get his sword stuck in the dense wood of a tree which would provide a challenge. It would be different.

The monotony of the daily routine was getting to him.

A knock against the wood and he turned around, grinning at seeing the captain of the squadron with the most unamused and annoyed expression upon his face. “Your team sucks and I refuse to apologize for their crocodile tears.”

“ _Eh_ , come now, Your Highness… they have sensitive egos.”

“Egos? Is that allowed in my presence? Funny, that didn’t seem to exist when they call themselves elite and yet are bested by a prince – the one they are meant to protect. What’s the point of them guarding me if I can defeat them? Useless…”

“Oh…?” The Captain rubbed his chin in thought, his normally bright eyes were focused now before hastily leaving the arena. Yuri scoffed, running his fingers through his hair. Perhaps now he should simply cancel these lessons.

Yes… Yes, that was the idea.

That would be best.

 

\---

 

A clear month.

And in that month, Yuri had become convinced his castle was not nearly big enough. The Captain had somehow, every day, without fail, was in the exact room he found himself in at the exact time of day. It was the time for his training and Yuri refused to go if he was simply going to for an easy defeat. Hell, even if they did try now – it wouldn’t matter. He was a master and he didn’t need lessons. But somehow, the Captain refused to take that answer and was certain to convince him otherwise. Yuri scoffed and went off to other rooms. And at the time of his lesson, he would be in the library. But so would the Captain.

In the armory.

In the gardens.

In the kitchen.

In the dining hall.

In the study.

In his chambers.

He could find himself in the stables and somehow, there was the superb Captain of the Knights waiting for him. It was a little frightening. And for thirty straight days, this happened. On the thirty-first day, Yuri had become annoyed by the actions of his loyal servant and decided for old-times sake, he would return to the arena, if only to prove that he didn’t need any such training.

But when he went there, he found no familiar face. He expected to find one of his knights clad in the blue training uniform or spot the bright orange hair of the Captain, but no, the first thing he saw was yellow.

Or more precisely, a yellow ribbon tying up a long ponytail. Yuri raised a brow, surprised by the stern expression held by the woman. And more so, how much of a stranger she was. And rude; she didn’t immediately fall to her knees and bow to him, praising the sun and air around him – kissing the ground he walked on. “Wh-”

“You’re late, Your Highness.”

“I’m royalty, I’m never late.” That and his lessons were technically cancelled – he couldn’t be late to something that didn’t exist… “You must be new if you didn’t realize that. I’m sure given time; you’ll understand the order of the way things are done. For example, you should be groveling for interrupting me.”

She huffed. “I grovel to those worthy.”

His eyes widened – did she really just…?! He chuckled slowly in disbelief before it turned into uproarious laughter. The gall of this woman – the absolute _ego_ about her! For the first time in a month, Yuri strolled over to the weapons and picked up his sword. For the first time in months, he was eager to fight. And for the first time in years, he knew he would enjoy it.

She, however, did not pick up a sword and merely furrowed her brows. “Your stance is incorrect.” She walked over, standing next to him and used her leg to nudge his further to the left. “And your grip is far too weak.”

“It is not – you haven’t even seen me move.”

“You’re just showing off. In fact, you shouldn’t even be holding a sword. Not a real one. Dennis keeps the training swords somewhere…”

“Training?! How dare you – I’ve graduated beyond training! I’ve defeated every miserable knight-”

She scoffed, flipping her hair out of her eyes and smacked his chest, causing him to stumble back as she dropped down low and swung her leg around under him. Yuri fell over, his back hitting the floor and he groaned, feeling a bit of his pride die as the woman straddled him and took the sword out of his hand. Easily too; his grip was weak.

And his stance fell apart so easily.

His heart beat so rapidly and there was a mixture of amusement and sheer anger flooding him. He didn’t know whether to be impressed or have this woman locked up for attacking him thus. She waved his sword, examining the hilt and blade. Her deep green eyes focused like an eagle; it was mildly fascinating.

He hadn’t been trapped in a position like this, not for as long as he could remember.

Peering up at the world from the ground instead of above was a new experience and above him was a strange woman with a girlish ponytail. “… I saw that coming.”

“You’re lying and are very bad at it, Your Highness.”

“Well, you’re bad at sucking up to me.” It was her job – it was everyone’s job to.

She snorted. “I don’t intend to. I gotta prove to you not all the knights here are this bad…” She tossed the sword away and placed her hand over her heart, nodding her head slightly. “No, a knight must be fierce and gallant – courageous to a fault. And accept every challenge!”

“… seems pretty stupid to harm the Prince of the realm.”

“Well, seems dumber to let him run his mouth when he has the skill of a farmhand. Actually, I think a farmhand would be better at this. You’re lower than that.” She removed herself from him and he sat up, rubbing the back of his head as she straightened her clothes.

A new knight, she had to be new. He’d never met her before and somehow, the captain had found the time to seek her out while he was busy stalking him every single day. And to seek out a woman who was so brazen to insult him, right to his face. To tackle him, injure him, insinuate he was not the master he had been told he was for years now. Yuri stood up to his feet, approaching the woman till he got close – uncomfortably close, enough that their noses nearly touching and his violet eyes bore deeply into her dark green eyes. She was not backing down, staring back intently with a calm expression.

Fierce indeed.

“What did you say your name was?”

“I didn’t.”

He grinned. Fearless too. At least this knight was skillful. A different experience these moments had been, and he could hardly bring himself to admit it; perhaps it was the bruises forming on the back of his head, but this firecracker of a woman was more passionate than the rest of his knights bundled together. It was strangely invigorating. She was different and already the room was filled with an energy that he hadn’t felt in so long – Yuri was certain such a fire had never existed. “Then… tell me your name. I can’t follow the teachings of a nameless stranger – how can I trust you otherwise?”

“Hmm… well, trust is important. But I also pinned you pretty easily, you can trust that.” A sardonic response and Yuri exhaled, backing up a few steps as he turned and approached the wall of weapons, his eyes scanning the different objects until he found the training wooden swords that he hadn’t used since he was a child. He picked up two, turning back around and throwing one to the woman, watching her catch it with ease.

“If you don’t provide me a name, I’ll have to name you myself.” He could call her dandelion since the yellow ribbon in her hair reminded him of the weed. She seemed the type that would find that kind of name annoying and would find herself flustered easily. Maybe a pet name even.

“Oh? That’s cool – I go by ‘over-achieving bitch’ or just ‘bitch’ for short, in case you’re feeling uninspired.”

… she really would not give him her name. Yuri adjusted his leg, remembering how she kicked him earlier and used two hands for his grip rather than the one, watching as her expression changed from something stern to a tad more joyful. “I suppose my gallant knight will have to suffice for the time being.”


End file.
